Sharing with you things that are on my mind...Maybe yours too. Come back to Wrights Lane for a visit anytime!

05 March, 2017

SINS OF YESTERYEAR NO LONGER SINS IN TODAY'S SOCIETY

It is quite coincidental that I often find myself pondering the sins that I have been guilty of committing over the years and acknowledging that while I have asked forgiveness of higher authority, I still have difficulty "forgiving" myself. I'm self-abusive that way.

Having said that, I also wonder if some of the "sins" that weigh heavily on my conscience would actually be considered sins in the current day and age.

Lo and behold, and much to my surprise, a retired man-of-the-cloth friend has been thinking along the same lines. It must have something to do with our advanced age.

Rev. Bob recalls a rainy December day in 1964 when he ventured into his bank to purchase some mutual funds. The young woman behind the desk filled out his application then proceeded to ask a very personal question. The conversation went something like this: “What are the numbers of your sin?“Well, I guess three or four, depending on whether you consider sneaking a second dessert is sinful. But why do you need to know about my personal behavior before selling me mutual funds?” he asked.

“Sir, I certainly do not need to know; I just needed your Social Insurance Number.” Her face had turned a bright red to match the colour of her woolen sweater, Bob recalls.

The confusion was understandable. The Federal Government had only just implemented an innovative tracking system in June of that year. Having one's very own SIN would forever identify them to Ottawa bureaucrats for purposes of taxation or CPP contributions and it took some getting used to.

“Sin” as a theological concept has lost its prominence and power in our contemporary world. In fact, we mutually agree that this is a great time to be a “sinner!” Consider these three realities offered by Bob:

-- With over three-quarters of us not attending church nor other places of worship, the idea of an angry, vengeful God seems only a relic from the cast-aside religion of our ancestors. Sinners are safe!

-- With sermons no longer filled with fearsome warnings of “Hellfire and Brimstone,” mainstream churchgoers leave Sunday services feeling reassured about God’s unconditional love, not frightened by his condemning wrath. Even Evangelical, more Fundamentalist, denominations balance a recognition of our universal sin nature with teachings about God’s grace, His promise of redemption through Jesus.

-- Society no longer condemns many kinds of behavior which, at one time, were quickly labeled as sinful. Today’s “sinner” will not be judged nor shunned by their community. At worst, they might encounter friends or neighbours who live by different values but who have learned never to insist others follow those same standards.

What then does that word “sin” really mean?

In its most basic form, a sin is moral wrongdoing, or in theological language, a transgression against God’s law. Unfortunately, “God’s law” may indeed leave the Deity’s infallible mouth, but inevitably lands into very human and fallible ears. In other words, mankind (and I do mean ”males”) has too often interpreted and bent God’s law to suit human purposes. This had led to horrible results such as the medieval Inquisition and the current atrocities of ISIS in the middle-East. This has also led to relatively trivial past edicts against supposed sins of movie-going, wearing makeup, card-playing, consuming alcohol, partaking in Sunday sports, eating meat on Friday and many other behaviors deemed at one time to be wrong. It was these trivial rules that were the first to go.

Prohibition failed in the 1920s. In the 1950s, Toronto’s Mayor Allan Lamport unlocked the theatres, pools and ballparks for citizens to enjoy on Sundays. Mainstream religious leaders relaxed rules around social drinking and buying lottery tickets. Evangelical movements moved beyond a preoccupation with lipstick, earrings, long hair on men and short skirts on women, to focus on far more important issues of serious sin and social justice.

Over the past 50 years or so, many of the proscriptions against non-trivial behavior, these serious sins, also began to crumble. Historically, it had been the power and influence of the institutional church that originally pressured governments to legislate moral laws into legal code. As the influence of religion waned in the 1960s, newer, secular voices led the way toward relaxation and ultimately abandonment of many of the legal constraints controlling human choice.

Behaviors once illegal and socially condemned, became allowable and socially accepted or at least tolerated. Laws permitting divorce were drastically broadened and, subsequently, remarriage made possible. Behavior, once unlawful----same-sex marriage, pre-marital sex, abortion, medical-assisted death (and soon-to-be-legalized personal use of marijuana) has become permissible without penalty.

What remains of sin? Friend Bob suggests it may be preferable to let go of the word entirely because the term has become so distorted and contaminated as to be undefinable by society."Perhaps one can speak of wrong behavior instead. The Biblical Ten Commandments continue to provide an ethical foundation, condemning murder, theft, adultery and social injustice, while encouraging love, right living, charity and justice. Society still is guided by these principles even if rejecting their source."

In the church calendar, today, March 5th, is the first Sunday of Lent. While traditionally a time for “giving up” of some habit or food, it is also a time to reflect upon those guiding principles by which we live our lives. You may end up examining your own sin numbers -- real and imaginary.

And that is exactly what I have been doing -- examining...and feeling guilty for certain personal failings of the past 60 or so years. What do you do when God has forgiven you as you have asked ("God have mercy on me, a sinner"), but you cannot find it in your heart to forgive yourself?

Are the Christian teachings of my formative years a saving grace, or a guilt-trip yoke around my neck today. Good question. I'll get back to you on that!

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THANKS FOR VISITING:

THE SOURCE

A new blog "INSPIRATION FROM THE WORD OF GOD: Sermons Selected For Your Viewing" has been added to my Wrights Lane feature blog roster. The site highlights a collection of sermons delivered by me when serving as a lay minister a few years ago.*Just click on the bible to view the introductory blog https://fromthepulpitbydick.blogspot.ca

A PREFACE TO WRIGHTS LANE

A lot of what I write on this site borders on the philosophical. To say anything strictly new would be impossible; nor would I presume that my knowledge, ideas and experience would be as valuable as the maxims of the wise and sublime truths which have become a part of the standard thinking and writing. The best, therefore, that anyone can expect to do is to re-introduce the experience of the past, and compile such personal thoughts and extracts as have harmonized with the testimony of earnest and aspiring minds, and present them in a fresh, novel context that hopefully offers some inspiration. In the words of the poet:

FROM THE MEMORY BANK...*click on the links below to view.

RECOGNITION APPRECIATED

Dick receiving award from London Sports Oldtimers Association chairman Bill Slater in recognition of contribution to baseball as a player, coach, manager, umpire and newspaper editor.

A NEW BLOG...

We're seven generation Canadians

...THE WRIGHT STORY

NEWS FLASH!!! INTRODUCING A NEW BLOG SITE: You won't find much in Canadian history books about Britain's transportation of convicts to the New World in the 1700s. In fact, Americans in particular, have rather romantic ideas about how their country was founded.

We’ve long been fond of the mythology surrounding persecuted people freely traveling to the New World and building the greatest country on Earth. But, like all history, it’s much, much messier than that. Our history includes plenty of genocide, slavery, and just a dash of prison folk — and the latter may be news to many reading this post.

Honestly, I didn't think much about that part of history either until a couple of weeks ago when, much to my surprise and temporary chagrin, while doing some family genealogical research, I discovered that my great-great-great grandfather Henry Wright was in fact, one of the "convicts" transported to America in 1763. The sad part of the story is that he was only 13 years of age -- a mere adolescent still in puberty. The subsequent story that unfolded for me is indeed a remarkable one. To share in "The Wright Story" click https://mywrightstory.blogspot.ca.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED ABOUT INTEGRITY...ALMOST TOO LATE

...When what you do, say, think, and feel is consistent with your conscience. When you live in Integrity, your whole world is an honest reflection of who you are. And that is what creates the trust that other people have in you.

Thanks for following me on Google+!

MORE THAN 800,000 VIEWERS

It was recently determined that Wrights Lane and its 29 companion blog sites have attracted in excess of 800,000 viewers since inception in 2008. The tally is representative of more than 900 individual posts.

INTRODUCING NEWEST BLOG SITES

DRESDEN: A PERSPECTIVE ON RACIAL DISCRIMINATION IN MY HOME TOWN.Read about Anglo-Saxon elitism, the Dawn Settlement, The Underground Railway, Uncle Tom's Cabin and my personal musings on an extremely touchy subject. http://dicktheblogsterremembers.blogspot.ca/

THE AMAZING JIM LONDON STORY: Bad boy high school dropout left home to re-invent himself and become an accomplished PhD. Academic, teacher, athlete, politician, traveler, humanitarian, family man -- he did it all...and more.

BASEBALL: "The game That I Grew Up With".Taking a nostalgic look at the game we oldtimers played as kids back in the 1940s. I think that it will bring back a lot of memories, especially for some of the chums who experienced those wonder years along with me in good old Dresden, Ontario. You don't have to be a baseball lover to enjoy it however.

HEEEEEERRRE'S JOHN!!!

CLICK LINK BELOW TO VIEW PAGE.

HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS...

...COME ON IN!

WRIGHTS LANE SIGN HAS SPECIAL MEANING FOR OTHERS TOO

Sometimes it is the small things in life that do your heart the most good.

I was working in my front terrace the other evening when two women riding bicycles passed by. We exchanged "hi's". It was one of those lazy, hazy summer nights when people were out and about for casual strolls and exchanging friendly greetings and nods with others they met along the way...It's a small town thing!

Continuing up the street for a short distance, I noticed the cyclists do an abrupt U-turn and head back in my direction. Stopping curbside, one of the women said: "Pardon me, but I have to tell you about your Wrights Lane sign". I thought for a brief second that she was going to make a negative comment about it.

Much to my surprise, however, she went on to explain that she was originally from Burlington and that she had coincidentally lived in a home on a Wrights Lane there. "When my parents retired, they moved to Southampton and I used to visit them. The first time that I drove past your house and saw your Wrights Lane sign, I couldn't believe the warm feeling that it gave me," she explained.

"Both parents are gone now of course and I have since moved here myself. Every time I see your sign it reminds me of my childhood home and assures me that I am now in the right place. I just thought that you should know..." she added.

I thanked her for sharing her story with me and in turn explained to her the history of Wrights Lane in my hometown of Dresden and how I have adopted it not only for my home in Southampton but for one of my web sites and a book that I published some time ago.

Admittedly, not an earth-shattering story, but one that holds special gratification for me.

I had been procrastinating on giving the sign a spruce up this summer, but I will need to get busy now...I have to do it for that lady from Burlington, if for no other reason.

EBOOKS NOW AVAILABLE ON-LINE

My two recently published books, "Wrights Lane...Come On In" and "Dresden Life Remembered" are now available in ebook form from Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.

HOW WE LIVED IT...

*A TRIBUTE TO MY LATE WIFE ANNE: GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN

I BELIEVE...

...It is not possible for anyone to understand what their civilization is (and therefore who they are) without an understanding of their roots. Just think about it. All our laws, our morals, our mores, are predicated largely on a Judeo-Christian tradition. The standards and attitudes of our society have been profoundly influenced by the person and the life of Jesus, the Christ. Regardless of our attitude toward religion, a knowledge of what this young man from Nazareth said and did is enormously enriching. You can read all about Him in a book found on the dusty shelves of any library near you.

...but you can't take the town out of the boy! .. The following is a story I wish I had remembered to include in my book, Dresden Life...

Ad for my book "Wrights Lane...Come On In" as it appeared in the publishers' Annual 2010 Book Catalog printed for the American Library Association Conference in Washington, D.C., June 24-28. Thousands of book buyers, librarians and agents attend the conference each year. Hopefully a few of them bought my book.

...THAT'S THE WAY I SEE IT

"The next thing most like living one's life over again seems to be a recollection of that life, and to make that recollection as durable as possible by putting it in writing." -- Benjamin Franklin-------------------------------

SITES I FOLLOW

The motivation

I firmly believe that if I have felt, experienced or questioned something in life, then surely others must have too. That's what this blog is all about -- hopefully relating in some meaningful way -- sharing, if you will, on subjects of an inspirational and human interest nature. Nostalgia will frequently find its way into some of the items. A work in progress, to be sure.